Prince Left No Heirs Behind, But Lived Secret Humanitarian Life

Even though Prince prepared no will and left no heirs to his pop music estate, he left behind a legacy of better lives for thousands of people because he used his wealth and fame to become a quiet, almost secret humanitarian.

As a Jehovah’s Witness, Prince’s religion taught him not to speak about his own good works, but since his recent death, friends are making sure people know that part of his biography — the charity that was a big part of his life.

Tax records show Prince created — and largely funded — the Love 4 One Another charity that has donated millions of dollars over the years to schools, homeless shelters, and community programs in at least nine states. He even launched a tour in 1997 to subsidize its charitable giving.

The pop icon also gave his time and talents to help his friend, former White House advisor Van Jones , with his social change project, Rebuild the Dream. Prince performed concerts to raise money for the organization and also to call attention to green energy solutions and relieving student loan debt.

“There are people who have solar panels on their houses in Oakland, California that Prince paid for and they don’t even know it,” Jones said on CNN shortly after Prince’s death last week.

Prince also worked with Jones create the YesWeCode initiative to train 100,000 low-income youths to write code. Prince saw the idea as a way to “teach black kids how to be like Mark Zuckerberg.”

Jones, a longtime friend of Prince, said the artist made countless other, quiet contributions to charities and people who were hospitalized. He gave free concert tickets to deaf and blind students, and even popped into public schools to surprise and encourage students.